1) I have FINALLY started my Christmas shopping, well the kids main presents. I am hoping they will be delivered tomorrow. Seriously, I am really worried about how am gonna afford everything year! Money is so tight and everything seems so expensive but I know we'll be ok. I think because the Christmas countdown seems to be on EVERYWHERE I go it makes me panic, lol.
2) I bought myself a pair of knitted boots on sale for £8.99. OVER half price. I never really spend money on myself and I know it should've gone towards Christmas but I really did need new boots. My trainers are falling apart, my other boots leak and I have no other suitable shoes for winter so really, it was a bargain buy and I really did need them. New boots (or shoes, or rather, any footwear always makes me happy, hehe)
3) It's Halloween next week, yay! I am really looking forward to it this year. As are the kids. I really do love this time of year.
4) My little girl had her first school disco - Halloween theme. She had a really good time and looked so cute all dressed up in her witches outfit, aww. I shall post pics next week when I get time and I need to figure out why my phone lead isn't working. Some kind of hardware problem with the laptop I think. Who knows.
Oh and one more reason. My kitten was poorly again but she's getting better now! Thank goodness for PDSA is all I can say!
Sarah xXx
Evening peeps.
My friend Laura has inspired me to write this post. After reading her achievements I really want to set myself a few goals to achieve by Christmas. So, here goes.
1) Have all Christmas presents brought by December 12th.
I know this is a bit "late" still but for me it'll be a big achievement because I usually leave all the xmas shopping until last minute.
2) I really NEED to have the kids bedrooms swapped around before Christmas, the boys need the bedroom that is bigger as they have more stuff & even more after Xmas. Ellie needs the smaller room, it'll be more cosy. Which means...
My friend Laura has inspired me to write this post. After reading her achievements I really want to set myself a few goals to achieve by Christmas. So, here goes.
1) Have all Christmas presents brought by December 12th.
I know this is a bit "late" still but for me it'll be a big achievement because I usually leave all the xmas shopping until last minute.
2) I really NEED to have the kids bedrooms swapped around before Christmas, the boys need the bedroom that is bigger as they have more stuff & even more after Xmas. Ellie needs the smaller room, it'll be more cosy. Which means...
- Both rooms need painting (The boys can not have a pink room lol, they'll go nuts, lol)
- Ellies new midsleeper bed needs assembling.
- Some of the toys need sorting out in time for Xmas.
- Donate the old toys/old clothes that are any good to charity.
4) Take the kids to the cinema. For my eldest son's birthday which was this Saturday just gone. We're saving the cinema for half term.
5) Lose half a stone (at least) Will update with weighing details when I weigh myself this week in boots. I refuse to buy bathroom scales because I know I will just become obsessed and I am not going down that road. No way.
So there we have it. I was going to add 'quit smoking' to the list.. and I am going to try but in all honesty I don't think I can diet and quit smoking totally at the same time. I've only been smoking five a day so I have cut down. I've gone from smoking 15-20 daily to smoking 5! Today I've only smoked 3! So that is a good start. Right?
Right off to bed now. Early start tomorrow *yawns* Roll on half term, no more early school runs, lol!
Sarah xXx
My eldest son will be NINE tomorrow. Nine years old already. I can not believe it, seriously time goes too fast and babies grow up too fast. He is my first born and we share a special bond (like I do with my other two children). He has taught me a lot, he taught me to grow up.
He's nine going on nineteen and I am not joking, his attitude, his personality, he is SO smart for his age and his fashion, well he certainly knows what he wants. Brand names and hair gel already! Justin bieber is his idle (ugh) and he loves RnB music, Xfactor and really wants a iPod. (See what he gets for xmas ;)) He couldn't live without his XBOX and he loves football SO much. His football idle is MESSI (whoever that is lol)
He is growing up so, so fast and I bless every single moment. I love helping him learn and watching him grow up but at the same time I miss when he was a baby and a toddler, it is truly bittersweet. I am SO proud of him, I truly am.
This was us nine years ago (he was a few hours old in his pic & I was 17)
Happy Birthday Harry! (early as I wont be on the computer tomorrow)
He's nine going on nineteen and I am not joking, his attitude, his personality, he is SO smart for his age and his fashion, well he certainly knows what he wants. Brand names and hair gel already! Justin bieber is his idle (ugh) and he loves RnB music, Xfactor and really wants a iPod. (See what he gets for xmas ;)) He couldn't live without his XBOX and he loves football SO much. His football idle is MESSI (whoever that is lol)
He is growing up so, so fast and I bless every single moment. I love helping him learn and watching him grow up but at the same time I miss when he was a baby and a toddler, it is truly bittersweet. I am SO proud of him, I truly am.
This was us nine years ago (he was a few hours old in his pic & I was 17)
Happy Birthday Harry! (early as I wont be on the computer tomorrow)
Sarah xXx
1) It is half term next week. I am actually really looking forward to it! We have a few things planned like take the kids to the cinema (hopefully, I have had to save for this!) and what not.
2) It is my eldest sons Birthday on Saturday! He will be NINE! NINE years old. I can't believe it! We'll be celebrating tomorrow with a special tea of his choice and birthday cake and opening presents as this year he'll be at his dads for his birthday (sigh) but he also has plans, too! I'm sure H will have a fab time! :)
3) I am SO excited about Halloween this year. Honestly, I never get excited about it really but this year is different. We're going to take the kids trick or treating (locally and only people who we know/do not mind. We're also going to carve pumpkins and make some toffee apples and stuff! Got any Halloween recipes you'd like to share with me? Leave a link or a comment =) Hehe.
Here's a practise pumpkin we did yesterday. My little girl suggested a cat... lol. I've never actually carved a pumpkin myself before so I suppose it's not too bad for a first attempt (and help from google lol).
Sarah xXx
I thought I would share this with you all..
I've had some really lovely freebies lately, some I've already tried and therefore haven't taken pictures of. Like the BB cream but you can read my review by clicking here and there was another BB cream that I got a free sample of and I actually entered a competition to win the BB cream, and I WON! That was back in the summer. I've also had other free samples like perfume & shampoo but I've already used those and don't have pics of them.
One of the perfume samples I received is actually going on my Christmas list! So glad I got a sample of it. I fell in loveeee with it. Anyway, I'm going off track so back to the subject of freebies/samples
I love getting nice things in the post, especially lovely freebies/samples. Most of the time I just get boring stuff like bills. More bills. And... Junk mail. Oh and more bills. So yes, goodies (freebies/samples and wins!) are lovely to receive in the post.
Please note this is UK only sites I *think*
How do I get freebies?
I use Magic freebies [click] and I also have them liked their facebook page. Reading some of the wall posts that other members have posted on there facebook page is another good way to find freebies.
Another site that is similar (and usually has the same freebies is Free Stuff World. I liked their Facebook page as well so when they update there status or whatever, it shows up in my news feed. Again reading other peoples wall posts and comments from other members is a great way to find freebies :-)
Twitter is a good way to look out for freebies from companies that are giving away free samples, add some of your fave companies/brands to twitter and keep an eye on there tweets. After all, you have nothing to lose.
You can also email companies and ask for a sample of whatever product you want to try. Although, I haven't done this. Yet.
I also find that signing up for freebies is best done in the AM because, well, FREEBIES always go FAST! I think most companies giving away samples is done a 'first come, first served' basis.. Although some maybe competitions and obviously a winner is usually picked at random. I don't always remember or have time but when I do, I usually only go for things I know I will actually use, or the kids will use (like the beach ball below). No good getting something that I know I won't use, when someone else could be using it. Never get freebies 'just because..' because it's such a waste to get something (even if it is for nothing) when someone else could be making good use of it!
Signing up/subscribing via Email is a good idea, too. That way if I DO forget, I at least get an email telling me what's on offer and 99% of the time I check my email daily, or try to.
Here are some of my freebies I've had thru my door recently:
I have also been entering A LOT of competitions lately. Usually rafflecopters ones that either the bloggers I follow are hosting or ones I find on twitter or other sites. Good sites for competitions are also the ones I linked above and the Find me a gift Facebook page. Other people also post on there wall about other competitions. I enter A LOT of competitions because well, I have more chance of winning at something! You have to be in it to win it, as they say.
Again, Twitter is a good place to look, all those companies or bloggers you follow may promote giveaways/competitions on twitter. Same with Facebook! So make sure you add your fave brands/companies to twitter & Facebook.
Another tip - It gets so boring filling out forms on each website, why not look into using an auto fill form? I use google chrome but I know you can get them for other browsers. Just google it and see. Or you could just copy and paste.
Do you have any tips you would like to share? Or perhaps some websites/links you'd like to share? :-)
Oh and no one asked me to write this post, I just did it out of the kindness of my heart because I wanted to share with my lovely blogger friends lol.
Anyway, I hope you found this useful and that it does actually make sense.
I'm off to watch a film now with my lovely fella.
G'night xXx
I've had some really lovely freebies lately, some I've already tried and therefore haven't taken pictures of. Like the BB cream but you can read my review by clicking here and there was another BB cream that I got a free sample of and I actually entered a competition to win the BB cream, and I WON! That was back in the summer. I've also had other free samples like perfume & shampoo but I've already used those and don't have pics of them.
One of the perfume samples I received is actually going on my Christmas list! So glad I got a sample of it. I fell in loveeee with it. Anyway, I'm going off track so back to the subject of freebies/samples
I love getting nice things in the post, especially lovely freebies/samples. Most of the time I just get boring stuff like bills. More bills. And... Junk mail. Oh and more bills. So yes, goodies (freebies/samples and wins!) are lovely to receive in the post.
Please note this is UK only sites I *think*
How do I get freebies?
I use Magic freebies [click] and I also have them liked their facebook page. Reading some of the wall posts that other members have posted on there facebook page is another good way to find freebies.
Another site that is similar (and usually has the same freebies is Free Stuff World. I liked their Facebook page as well so when they update there status or whatever, it shows up in my news feed. Again reading other peoples wall posts and comments from other members is a great way to find freebies :-)
Twitter is a good way to look out for freebies from companies that are giving away free samples, add some of your fave companies/brands to twitter and keep an eye on there tweets. After all, you have nothing to lose.
You can also email companies and ask for a sample of whatever product you want to try. Although, I haven't done this. Yet.
I also find that signing up for freebies is best done in the AM because, well, FREEBIES always go FAST! I think most companies giving away samples is done a 'first come, first served' basis.. Although some maybe competitions and obviously a winner is usually picked at random. I don't always remember or have time but when I do, I usually only go for things I know I will actually use, or the kids will use (like the beach ball below). No good getting something that I know I won't use, when someone else could be using it. Never get freebies 'just because..' because it's such a waste to get something (even if it is for nothing) when someone else could be making good use of it!
Signing up/subscribing via Email is a good idea, too. That way if I DO forget, I at least get an email telling me what's on offer and 99% of the time I check my email daily, or try to.
Here are some of my freebies I've had thru my door recently:
(The blue thing with white writing is a beach ball from NIVA, I think the rest explain themselves lol)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I have also been entering A LOT of competitions lately. Usually rafflecopters ones that either the bloggers I follow are hosting or ones I find on twitter or other sites. Good sites for competitions are also the ones I linked above and the Find me a gift Facebook page. Other people also post on there wall about other competitions. I enter A LOT of competitions because well, I have more chance of winning at something! You have to be in it to win it, as they say.
Again, Twitter is a good place to look, all those companies or bloggers you follow may promote giveaways/competitions on twitter. Same with Facebook! So make sure you add your fave brands/companies to twitter & Facebook.
Another tip - It gets so boring filling out forms on each website, why not look into using an auto fill form? I use google chrome but I know you can get them for other browsers. Just google it and see. Or you could just copy and paste.
Do you have any tips you would like to share? Or perhaps some websites/links you'd like to share? :-)
Oh and no one asked me to write this post, I just did it out of the kindness of my heart because I wanted to share with my lovely blogger friends lol.
Anyway, I hope you found this useful and that it does actually make sense.
I'm off to watch a film now with my lovely fella.
G'night xXx
(Image from google)
This post will probably be a bit ranty because well, I'm pee'd off. With O2. I'm pay as you go btw.
See, I phoned them to change my mobile number because I keep getting those weird marketing text message, you know the ones that go a bit like "The bank owes you £2,000 loan fees" or whatever. Thing is I don't even have a bank account (I use post office account for those wondering) let alone a bank LOAN! Ugh. I got so fed up of texting "STOP" and wasting all my credit that I figured it'd be easier to just change my number. So I did. Only they didn't process my new number, so I phoned them again. 24 hours later it was finally processed. It was all working great! When last night I got the stupid thing on my phone saying "SIM not provisoned2" WHAT?! So I tried calling my number from my fellas phone and I get "The number you have called has not been recognised" again WHAT?! So I phone O2, I'm all "My phone is not working" and explain to the chap on the phone what my phone says and what happens when I call the number and how I can't receive calls or texts, LET ALONE make calls or texts. The chap on the other end of the phone tells me the number is indeed active & there should be no problem and it must be my phone. Riiiiiiiiighto. He also tells me to take the sim and battery out, rebbot the device and all that jazz. Which I reply "I've already done that 6 million times" (OK, I may have over exaggerated but I did take my battery out many, many times) I don't see what difference it makes whether my sim card is in my phone or another phone, it's still going to say the number isn't recognized right? The chap on the phone disagreed. So I tried it in another phone and sure enough - Same thing! Then the chap is all "Go to your nearest O2 store and explain to them, they will sort the problem out" I'm all "Ok whatever" I can't be bothered going to the O2 store because quite frankly I haven't got time to go into town and explain allll over again. So I have now brought a new sim card, and I need to call O2 again to get all my bolt ons/BBM and everything switched over to this new number. Ugh. Why is this happening to me???!! I am dreading calling them because 1) It means explaining again. For the third time in 3 days. and 2) I really do not have patience 3) I really can not be bothered. But I HAVE to. Ugh, it sucks but what can I do?!
There's been a lot of issues with O2 lately, the network keeps going down, then the other month BBM wasn't working. Then it started working. Then stopped working. Urgh.
Am I a satisfied customer? Nope.
*SIGH*
Yes, this is MY opnion and I know you may not agree but freedom of speech and all that.
Hopefully they'll fix the problem.... I can hope!!
Sarah xXx
EDIT: Finally spoke to someone at O2, problem is now resolved & my phone is back up and running. It just goes to show when you speak to the right employee at O2 the problem really does get sorted. So yes, I am happy again now. Yay! I have a phone again. Woohoo.
EDIT: Finally spoke to someone at O2, problem is now resolved & my phone is back up and running. It just goes to show when you speak to the right employee at O2 the problem really does get sorted. So yes, I am happy again now. Yay! I have a phone again. Woohoo.
The boys had a pirate day today at school. They had to dress up as pirates, unfortunately I didn't think to take picture because I am poorly but they looked so cute with their bandanas and eye patches etc lol. They also had a 'pirate lunch' at school, fish/scampi bites or fish cake or fish fingers, wedges or fries, lemonade as a nice treat and I can't remember what was for dessert but it all sounded delicious! They enjoyed a professional performance of 'Treasure Island' this afternoon, they had great fun and were so excited to tell me all about when they got home from school, bless 'em.
My little girl has a fancy dress disco in a couple of weeks and she is really looking forward to that. She's either going to be TinkerBell, Princess Belle from beauty and the beast or a cat, she keeps changing her mind, lol. She's excited about it :)
Just a quick post to say thanks for all the lovely 'get well soon' comments!
I have flu, ugh. It totally sucks but I am so grateful that I have an amazing fella to help me when am poorly. He's been so good. Cooking, cleaning, collecting the kids from school for me. I am truly very lucky.
I've been entering lots of competitions and giveaways lately, so if you know of any & fancy sharing with me it gives me something to do while I am poorly.
SO glad it's the weekend!!!
Sarah xXx
I am not very well today. I woke up with a sore throat and rotten cold. Actually, I thought I was coming down with something yesterday but woke up this morning feeling 10x worse. SO I am going to keep this simple.
1) I am grateful that I have a wonderful fella who is looking after me when i'm ill. He's doing all the cooking and washing. He is truly amazing.
2) This weekend, IF I am feeling better we're going to take the kids out, perhaps to feed the ducks or something like that. It's always nice to get out and do something... *anything* rather than be stuck inside.
3) My brother and his fiance and baby girl are coming here on Sunday for dinner. A lovely big Sunday roast. I am really looking forward to seeing them, especially my niece, she is only 16 months old, aww.
Sarah xXx
It's my nephew's 2nd Birthday this weekend. I had no idea what to get him, then I remember he liked fire engines, so there was online look for fire engine related things, then I thought to myself "I bet he was one of those already" and "yup, he deffo has one those" Then I came across the Fire engine pop up tent that Argos sell. That's the perfect gift! So I went in there today and proudly brought it. It's age 2+ and comes with a firemans hat too. It seems easy to store and says it';s easy to assemble. It looks simple enough. Only now I really want to put it up and see what it actually looks like =/ But no, I must not! It does look really cool! I hope he likes it!! Also brought him a set of mini bedtime stories and some white chocolate.
Also, I received the things I won in Mama Owls give away! I'm impressed. I've decided to keep it as a Christmas present though! I also got two arty books as well so I have something for each of the kids. That was a lovely surprise.
I am trying so hard to lose weight, I've started eating healthier (I miss crisps) and exercising Does anyone have any weight looks tips they'd like to share with me? I only need to lose about a stone and a little bit and then tone up a little.
Well, my eldest boy is wanting me to help him with his homework. We're going to research Romans now on the internet. He has to do a project on The Romans. My youngest son has to do a project about Ancient Egypt. I love helping them with their projects, hehe.
Sarah xXx
I have had an ok week this week. Yesterday was a bit of a craptastic day but it did get better... Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) It is FINALLY October. I love October. The smells of Autumn, pumpkin carving really for Halloween, Halloween, my eldest sons 9th Birthday is in a couple of weeks (I can't believe he's going to be NINE. Times flies) and of course the month I should start my Christmas shopping (*should being the keyword). I also love the cooler weather, hehe.
2) I won a giveaway!! Yay!! Just waiting for an email now. Woohoo. I won Brainbox Games from Mama Owls giveaway. Now I don't often win anything. This reallllly brightened my week! Also comes in handy for a Christmas present for one of the kiddos. Christmas is SO expensive (especially with 3 kids) every little really DOES help :) Eee, I am SO excited, hehe. My first WIN on a giveaway!! Yay!!
3) I have almost finished buying the Birthday presents for my eldest sons birthday, his of what he wanted was rather long. I still have 3 or 4 more little things to buy him, though.
So there are my reasons to be cheerful this week. Also, tomorrow is Friday!! I love the weekends, haha. And I didn't wake up with a headache this morning, I hope I don't have a headache at all today, that'd be nice.
Sarah xXx
Look how cute my kitten looks all curled up asleep on my bed lol, doesn't look very comfy does it?! Still adorable though. Aww.
ARGH! I don't know WHAT has gotten into my kids tonight! Actually, I do KNOW... lack of sleep. Up at 5:30am. They're all grumpy and whingey. Roll on bedtime lol.
My eldest has been playing out the front with his friends, just in the front garden playing football but he keeps in and out, every 2 seconds :/ KIDS!!!!
Anyhoo, things here have been pretty boring the same as always, nothing overly exciting going on. I am thinking about Christmas and really want to make start. The kids all want new bikes for Xmas so I have been pricing those up. I've also been busy doing the usual housework and laundry, nothing new or exciting lol.
My eldest boy has a school trip this Friday. He's so excited. I won't say where he's going just yet though, lol. Charlie is doing wonderfully at school although he needs a bit of extra help with his reading. Ellie is going great, too! Her first school photo next week!! YAY! I am going to have one of the kids all taken together.. We have to be at the school for 8am though. Hmm, that should be an adventure lol.
I've been having some really nasty headaches again and I know I need to see the neurologist, I will be speaking to my GP this week to see if he can hurry a neuro appointment along a bit faster than if I call. The weight time is around three months, I need an appt sooner than that but I understand there are people more priority to me. I have an eye consultant appointment at the end of the month, too. I guess the consultant will want to measure the pressure behind my eyes. We'll see. I am trying to stay positive about not needing another lumbar puncture. I have also been resting a lot while the kids have been at school, rest helps. It's nice to have some *me* time but gosh, I do really miss the kids when they are at school.
Yup, it's taken me two hours to get this far because I keep getting interrupted I should really blog when the kids are at school or in bed, lol. The two little ones have just gone up to bed, they are exhausted. I think they'll be asleep within seconds. I think I may have a nice hot bubble bath and an early night *yawns* ahuh, early night sounds A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Sarah xXx
P.s Almost forgot.. go checkout This page HERE apparently you can win an iPhone 5, follow the steps on the RaffleCopter =]
I was tagged by Julie aka Mama Owl to post my wants, lol.
1) I want to have a bath in peace.
I want to not be woken up at 5am
I want a new pair of boots (also NEED them)
I want to be able to spend some money on new clothes without having to feel guilty about spending money on myself for once.
I want someone to help me with the housework and laundry.
I want to know why no one can pick up there own washing and put it in the wash.
I want a holiday.
I want to lose about a stone in weight and tone up.
I want the house to stay clean and tidy for at least one whole day.
I want a new T.V for my bedroom so that I can actually watch what I want on TV in the evenings rather than cartoons, lol.
But what I want more than anything else in this world is... I WANT to get better and not have headaches allll the time.
and this one goes without saying
I want my kids to be happy, healthy and successful in life.
I tag anyone who wants to do this because Idk who to tag lol.
Sarah xXx
1) I want to have a bath in peace.
I want to not be woken up at 5am
I want a new pair of boots (also NEED them)
I want to be able to spend some money on new clothes without having to feel guilty about spending money on myself for once.
I want someone to help me with the housework and laundry.
I want to know why no one can pick up there own washing and put it in the wash.
I want a holiday.
I want to lose about a stone in weight and tone up.
I want the house to stay clean and tidy for at least one whole day.
I want a new T.V for my bedroom so that I can actually watch what I want on TV in the evenings rather than cartoons, lol.
But what I want more than anything else in this world is... I WANT to get better and not have headaches allll the time.
and this one goes without saying
I want my kids to be happy, healthy and successful in life.
I tag anyone who wants to do this because Idk who to tag lol.
Sarah xXx
